The present invention relates generally to ion discharge lasers and in particular to method and apparatus for processing laser tubes for improved performance. Processing is used during manufacture of new laser tubes and during remanufacture or reprocessing of used laser tubes to improve performance by removing contaminates from the laser, particularly from the cathode and the ceramic matrix of tube bore.
Conventional processing systems for laser tubes require multi-day operation of the tube during which tube bake-out, processing and pinch off is accomplished to remove contaminants and prepare the tube for operation. Preprocessing of certain tubes with using oxygen as a processing gas has been used to accelerate this process, but has resulted in cathode poisoning, metal oxidation of tube components and bore contamination.
Processing of used laser tubes has conventionally included tube bore out, acid etch or bead blasting to attempt to reduce or remove laser tube bore contamination and to permit the tube to be returned to normal operating conditions. These approaches however result in changes to the physical and therefore operating characteristics of the tubes and have not been particularly satisfactory.